Transformative Learning Many people dream of changing the
world, but not changing themselves.
Ann-Marie Jennette wants to do both. by greg abazorius
“I don’t believe money should ever be a limitation for anything you do in life.” Ann-Marie Jennette believes fully in this idea. She says it as someone who helps provide opportunities for those looking to transform themselves and as someone who wholly appreciates what it’s like to be in a position without money. From humble beginnings, she put herself through school at Wentworth and became a highly successful senior project manager for Suffolk Construction in the San Francisco Bay
can improve who we are,” says Jennette. Several years ago, Mandy Ho and her husband discussed leaving all their money to a trust after they die. Funding transformational education is important to the couple, and doing what they could with their savings felt like the right thing to do. Ho recounts hearing from friends that it was a nice
area. “I’m not from much. I put myself through school and
idea, but no one wanted to actually form a plan until she
found a path to pay for it,” she says. “It wasn’t easy, but I did.
broached the idea with Jennette.
Not everyone can.” But personal enrichment opportunities including
“Ann-Marie thought this was not just a nice idea, it was a necessary one. And waiting for us to die isn’t good enough,”
extracurricular courses and workshops were not always in
Ho says. “She believed this was possible and achievable now,
the budget, even for someone who had achieved her level
probably more than I did.”
of career success. Last year, Jennette and good friend Mandy Ho created
The duo started to develop the organization in January 2018 and officially opened its doors in March 2019,
Dream Evolution, a nonprofit that provides financial
with an inaugural event held that May. Scholarships have
support “for people to participate in transformational
since funded Dreamers in taking various workshops,
education in order to make a difference in the world.” Their
certification courses and other classes in the name of
“Dreamers,” as they’re known, include: • A woman residing in Egypt who is taking mindfulness lessons she learned, translating them to Arabic and
personal transformation. Jennette knew she would be adding hours to an already demanding schedule. Having earned a Master of Science
distributing them to more than 3,000 people in her
in Construction Management and a Bachelor of Science in
community
Architectural Engineering from Wentworth, she took a full-
• A 79-year-old woman who wants to take what she’s learning in personal enrichment classes and teach it to the rest of her family • Two people who wanted to help others through physical
time position with Suffolk Construction in Boston (her co-op employer) as an assistant project manager. Her work can be found all over Boston and Cambridge in the form of the Mandarin Hotel, the MIT Dewey Library, Liberty Mutual’s
healing who were able to take the classes necessary to
executive suites and the MassArt Tree House Residence Hall,
become fitness and yoga instructors
among others.
The organization—consisting of seven board members— hosted various fundraising events that helped raise $30,000 in 2019 and is about to hand out an eighth scholarship. Helping others starts with helping oneself, Jennette believes. 12 | SUMMER 2020
“There is a way to grow within our personal selves beyond the career stuff. We do better for others when we
After nearly eight years in the Boston area, Jennette headed to California to work as a senior project manager in Suffolk’s San Francisco office. 340 Fremont—a $180 million, 42-story residential building in downtown San Francisco—is one of several high-end projects she has already worked on.
